The RaTS programme (Rothera Oceanographic and Biological Time Series) involves the long term monitoring of a nearshore marine environment and is focussed around two broad aims, 1) Provide a suite of oceanographic data that would provide environmental background to aid interpretation of the nearshore marine ecology and 2) Test a series of broad hypotheses concerning the pelagic-benthic coupling and environmental forcing of the nearshore environment. On an approximate weekly basis, an upper water column CTD cast is deployed with a discrete water sample taken at 15m. The water sample is analysed for macronutrients, chlorophyll, dissolved organic carbon, oxygen isotopes and microbial community.

Density of the water columnVisible waveband radiance and irradiance measurements in the water columnElectrical conductivity of the water columnChlorophyll pigment concentrations in water bodiesVertical spatial coordinatesSalinity of the water columnTemperature of the water columnReference numbers

Density of the water columnVisible waveband radiance and irradiance measurements in the water columnElectrical conductivity of the water columnChlorophyll pigment concentrations in water bodiesVertical spatial coordinatesSalinity of the water columnTemperature of the water columnReference numbers